Belgian Ale

Belgian ales
are made in Belgium. Belgian style ales are made everywhere else;
sometimes they are made well, and sometimes not.
In the new 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines, these beers are roughly categorized
based on alcohol content and their balance.
The stronger, less malty and more bitter, well-attenuated beers with more yeast character are grouped in Category 25 Strong Belgian Ale. This category is for the maltier to balanced
and “more highly flavored” (per the style guidelines) Belgian and French ales
such as:

I’m not sure
I quite understand the “more highly flavored” descriptor, except possibly for
Witbiers which are typically spiced. The
conundrum comes from putting Belgian Pale Ales in this category and then in the
description saying that they are “somewhat less aggressive in flavor profile
than many other Belgian beers”. I’m not
here to quibble with the descriptions or categories, but if you are studying
for the current BJCP exam, just keep in mind this little discrepancy.

What Makes a Beer a Belgian Ale?

Orval, the Quintessential Belgian Ale

I’ll go over
each style separately, but keep in mind that calling a beer a Belgian ale is
much like calling a beer an American Ale.
These two styles encompass so many different types of beer as to seem gigantic in scope. So, what makes a
beer a Belgian ale? Well, these beers
have a few characteristics in common that separate them from other beer
styles. Some of these include:

The judicious use of spices, most
commonly coriander, orange peel, chamomile, and possibly cumin, in several
of their beers. Believe it or not, much
of the spiciness found in Belgian beers are derived not from spice, but from
the yeast, fermentation profile, malt specifications and hops used. When Belgian brewers do use spices, they
employ them with a gentle hand, adding only nuances and subtlety rather than
in-your-face spice flavors.

Belgian brewers use less-modified
Continental malts and employ multi-step mashes to deliver a beer that is well
attenuated, having a silky smooth mouthfeel and a beautiful pillowy head.

Belgian beers are generally very well
carbonated, sometimes as high as 5 volumes of carbonation which affect both
mouthfeel and appearance. Think of Orval when imagining this characteristic.

A lot of the character in these beers
come from the specific yeast used. These
yeast impart the typical spicy phenols and fruity esters that exemplify what
most people think of as Belgian. But Belgian beers are so diverse that it is
difficult to pin down very specific yeast derived characteristics for all Belgian
beers. Many, such as Belgian Pale Ales
use a neutral yeast that does not impart much yeast character. When brewing to style, it is usually wise to
use the proper Belgian yeast for the style being brewed, especially when
brewing a saison, witbier and biere de garde.

And finally, the best Belgian beers
are bottle conditioned. Bottle
conditioning imparts a distinct mouthfeel, carbonation, and evolution of flavor
that you just can’t get from force carbonation.

Brewing Tips:Brewing a Belgian style ale or an Abbey ale shouldn’t be as difficult as many make it out (or a Belgian Lager either for that matter). Choose an appropriate Continental malt,
utilize a multi-step mash, ferment with the correct Belgian yeast if the style
calls for yeast derived flavors and attenuation levels, bottle-condition in
thick bottles, use spices sparingly and aim for high carbonation. If you must use a single temperature mash
schedule with well-modified American malts, mash in the 146°–149°F (63°–65°C)
range and you will get very close.

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